by J. P. Yager
Nathan straightened up and ended the handshake. "It has, Lieutenant."
"Well, vice commander now. Is that your old ship?" He nodded toward the beat-up bird with the scratched-out letters on the tail.
Nathan nodded. "Needs a new force drive."
"I wish we could help with that. But she’s an old model we couldn’t recreate. We'll fix what we can though."
"Is your father…?" Nathan began.
"He's…fighting. I'll take you to see him if you'd like. I'm sure he'd be happy to see you again."
A dark look passed across Nathan's face, and then he smiled his crooked smile. "Sounds good."
Fox motioned for them to follow. "Welcome to our flagship, the Helcarion. Let me show you around." He turned to one of his aides. "Get a maintenance crew down here."
Trevor let their idle small talk drone on. His attention was on the city that had opened up before him. As soon as they left the docking station, they were inside of it. Buildings rose up on all sides; businesses were open and busy. He even saw a spot where they grew crops and raised livestock intertwined with busy city life. Parks ran through it. Rivers flowed. It was a perfect recreation of the world they had lost.
People there used simple speeders to get around or a monorail. Most looked happy to walk. They weaved their way closer to the main structure in the middle of the city.
Trevor saw all kinds of different aliens there. Nya had always said his education would be a waste, but since losing Earth and drifting through space, it had come in handy. He spoke most all their languages, 23 to be exact, and knew most of their histories. It could potentially pay dividends again. Or he could win if they were doing a trivia night.
He realized the tour was over and he hadn't heard a word.
"So," Fox concluded, "you can follow me. The rest are welcome to explore the city."
Trevor went to follow Nathan when he realized he was an uninvited guest.
"Don't do anything stupid," Nathan told him.
Trevor shook his head. "Wouldn't think of it." He watched his uncle rejoin the group and enter the heavily guarded structure.
He felt something tug on his leg. Boost was looking at him, either confused or acting like it.
Trev felt his stress bringing on another attack and in public; it wasn't the time. "C'mon, Booster. Let's get a drink."
Boost shook his robot fist toward the Captain to show he was on Trev’s side, and then followed quietly.
-o-
In a circular elevator shooting up, Nathan found himself in a strange situation. He may have been out of the romance game for a while, but he still recognized other players. Playing the love game rarely welcomed more than two players at a time. He watched the floors speed past 150 and continue. How much longer?
"I'm so glad you're safe." Fox's look couldn't hide what used to exist between him and Kaida.
She had the same glimmer for him. "It's good to see you too." She passed a dirty look toward Nathan that went largely unnoticed.
"You have to tell me what happened after you arrived at Mara VII."
"I will," Kaida said coyly. She watched for Nathan’s reaction and when she didn’t see one, she added, “Maybe over a drink tonight.”
Nathan coughed loudly. "Had a dream the other night."
Both Kaida and Fox stopped to look up at him. Brows were drawn down in confusion. He wasn't even sure himself where it had come from.
"I was about to give a speech at our graduation." He went to explain.
One of Fox's eyebrows made a hill while the other slanted down into a ravine.
"I can't stop thinking about it." Nathan laughed to himself. "Like, there's something I missed that night. Something important." Even though he was speaking honestly, he wasn't sure why this was the time to bring it up.
The floor dinged, and the elevator doors opened.
What is wrong with me? Nathan thought to himself. Letting this woman up in his cockpit, her making him look like a fool, her wonderful flowery smell—he didn't want any of it. And yet-
In the haze of uncomfortable silence, the three of them left the confines of the elevator and entered the command center.
Nathan let out a breath, both to get his bearings again and because this was quite a scene. There was a wall of monitors covering one entire side; in the center, there was a giant star map, and spaced throughout were stations with random people doing random tasks.
"Please follow me," Fox called. He brown robe swayed out behind him.
Nathan recognized some old faces, people who had been in the Royal Guard's leadership cabinet, advisors, and others he couldn't quite place. He hadn't seen them since Bastion, where most went their own way. He followed Fox past them to a private office lined with books.
Fox had resumed a professional veneer. He took his chair and allowed the others to get comfortable.
"I received a message that you were in danger and were onto something that could change the fight against Ruvera. In all seriousness, I have taken a huge chance on this and postponed the attack on Razerus. I hope that us losing the element of surprise was not in vain." Fox steepled his hands and looked to Kaida. "What happened on Aquaria? Were the tests successful?"
Nathan tried to make himself look like the fly on the wall, but found it unsuccessful.
Kaida shook her head. "The energy field was too unstable. We could not replicate the rift technology."
"But the message said you had found something."
"Not in the same sense you're thinking." Kaida was treading carefully. "It's more like we found a possibility. Another possible weapon."
Fox's face scrunched up into an ugly grimace. "A possibility? What would this be?"
"Something called the Void Star," Nathan joined in. This conversation was turning sour quickly. Fox turned to survey his old commander and friend.
"Is it a weapon?" Fox asked him patiently.
"We don't know for sure," Nathan answered honestly.
"Is it for defense?" Fox came again.
"We don't know that either."
"Can it be used to go back in time and stop us from wasting a rescue mission on a complete dead end?" Fox screamed, slamming his hands on his desk.
The room went silent.
Fox laughed to himself, sounding a little mad when he did so. "I'm sorry. It was my decision. I just…wait till my father hears of this. I’ll never be ready to take his place."
"This isn't a dead end," Nathan asserted. "We've been running for our lives throughout the Outer Rim because we may have information on this star. It has to be important. They are sending everything after it. It could be the thing we need to turn the tide back on them."
Fox still looked troubled. "I think it's time we saw my father. Let me go check if he can see people today." He got up, straightened his robes, and told them to stay there. He left them alone.
Even though he couldn't care less, Nathan asked anyway, "Are you two involved?"
Kaida's eyes twinkled for a moment as she looked at him. "Since when do you care?" Her anger from earlier flared up. "Now you care; that's rich. Seeing as you delivered me and my equipment as promised, our business venture is through. Fox will see you get paid."
Nathan gave her an indifferent shrug. He didn't feel indifferent though. He kept looking at her thick lips and wondered what they felt like. Why was he pushing her away when he wanted to do the opposite? The old excuse of losing his family wasn't doing it anymore. He had been in mourning every day for nearly a decade.
He pinched himself out of it. Get ahold of yourself.
The door opened, and Fox motioned for them to follow him. “Do not tell him this nonsense about a space anomaly. It would upset him too much for his condition to handle.”
They followed him up a floor that led down a thin hall and then through more armed guards until they entered a large, private bedroom chamber. On the bed lay a very frail old man.
"Callius…" The name escaped Nathan's lips. His heart echoed in his ears. Time
seemed to stop. The years of wandering through space atoning for his mistakes, terrible losses like Epherus, burying himself under a false persona to protect what was left of his mind, Kaida—so many mistakes.
He found himself on his knees, holding his mentor's hand. "My Armiger."
The old man on the bed blinked his eyes open weakly. His sheets were ruffled above the sickly old man. "Cadet Sutherland? Is that you?"
Nathan rose from his bedside and stood over his former leader. "Yes, sir."
"Sans peur. I never forgot your call to arms." The old man's breathing was labored.
He wanted to say a thousand things, release all the heavy weight of regret that always threatened to consume him. But nothing came out.
"Your words still echo through my heart, Nathan."
And for a moment, he was back in front of the crowd. He had already delivered a strong intro, Maura was beaming, and his heart was racing. He looked out and saw the Armiger smiling. The crowd was clapping.
He continued his speech then. "We don't know the road before us. It is obscured like all future events. What we do know is ourselves. And if we stay true to who we are and the value of what we do, we can thrive forever."
The memory unlocked itself from his mind. He saw his old friend Fox, even Gastoff, and a familiar young girl by his side, looking up at him with eyes that went far beyond hunger. It was a much younger Kaida, heavier and with glasses. She had been the geeky kid in their class who always tried to talk to him. That was why…
"You inspired us all," the Armiger continued weakly. His tone grew wistful. "Our way of life is at an end, old friend. We outstayed our welcome. We failed to change in time."
Nathan looked to him again. He wasn't talking about losing the jump on Ruvera. "I don't understand."
"You will," Callius began. "Scott wasn't an engineer. He was my chief weapons researcher."
"What are you talking about, Father?" Fox asked, now on his other side.
"Son, I'm glad you are here too. My time is growing short, and an old man's secrets must be passed on."
Both Fox and Nathan waited.
"You both have done so much for our people. You need to know the truth of what happened to us." The Armiger looked up through red eyes at Nathan. "Your brother-in-law, Scott, was working on a weapon…" Callius coughed violently and straightened.
Nathan held his breath, knowing full well what was coming.
"He was making what would later be called rift technology. He created the very thing that destroyed us."
All the life drained from Nathan's face. "No."
"And only a spy could have known to take it. Someone he knew. Someone he trusted. They brought it to Velkas, who used it on us. Truth be told, we would have used it on them. War…it only ever ends when you wipe the other out. I should have listened to you. We would have defeated Ruvera on our own merit. We would still have our world. But we changed the playing field by continuing to create more destruction, including our own."
"No…" Nathan repeated. He felt his world crashing down on him—the sacrifices, the lies, the missions, the fear, the pain, the hope, the loss, all for a cause he believed in. The very ideals he thought he enforced were a mask. If they intended to use rift tech on them, they were no better than their enemy. It was as if the United States had dropped the atomic bomb on itself.
"I'm sorry," Callius said.
Nathan turned away and sat down.
"Fox, there's something you need to know too. I have done everything I can to prepare you for what needs to be done. You have been the Armiger this whole time except in name. Do not fear failure, for it only exists if you want it to. You haven't lost the element of surprise yet. They may know our numbers now, but they won't truly know what's coming. I have a few more things to tell you this night, and then you must let me go. My time is finished."
Fox nodded wordlessly.
Callius turned back to Nathan. "The fight for this universe isn't over yet, Cadet. We may have lost Earth, but we haven't lost our chance to even the score. Our enemy must be stopped at all costs. But this time, we’ll do it the right way."
Nathan didn't have anything left to say. They had handed Ruvera the keys to the universe.
Callius pushed a button on his bedside, and doctors rushed in. "It was good to see you. Farewell."
Nathan let himself be dragged out. He wasn't aware of his surroundings until he was back inside Fox's office looking at the wall of books. Kaida was sitting beside him, still heated from earlier. After a time, Fox reappeared.
"My father told me it was a matter of security you weren't told," Fox explained. "No one knew except Scott and his team. Not even his family knew. Shoot, not even I knew."
Nathan just scratched his white beard in thought. "I need a place to lay my head down."
"I can arrange that." Fox made a call. He turned to Kaida. "I'm sorry about losing my temper earlier."
Kaida shrugged him off.
“Can we still have that drink?” Fox asked.
Kaida smiled. “Perhaps.”
Fox got up and opened the door for them. "Well, I have to see to my father's wishes."
Nathan brushed past him, leaving both Fox and Kaida behind.
He made sure he got into the elevator alone. He needed time to himself. He had to figure this out. His eyelids were closing on him, though.
On the ground floor, he was led to an open room reserved for officers. He didn't care how nice the accommodations were. He took a long shower. The hot cascade burned across him like the countless sins he had committed. He shut the water off and stood there. Cold air hit his skin. Steam barreled up around him. It was quiet. His senses picked up on something. Someone had entered his room, and he felt he knew who. He toweled off and entered the bedroom.
Kaida was waiting for him, wearing something that left little to the imagination. A soft pink robe held the promise of more revelations back.
"I don't care that you didn't remember me from thirty years ago. I'm sorry that you lost your family and your military service amounted to a lie." She played with the belt that held her nakedness back. "I just want to have what I've always fantasized about—the class president, the captain of the Royal Guard, the dirty old space captain." She undid the belt, and her robe fell away.
For once, Nathan didn't think about what Maura or his son would think if he continued to live his life without them. He just wanted her, and that was what he took.
-o-
A few blocks away, a brightly lit bar promised the selection of a lifetime. The electric board updated regularly with different types of drinks to sample. So far, Trevor had kept up pretty well, ordering as soon as it changed to something new. Since he started pounding them back, the symptoms that presaged an attack had subsided.
Alcohol always worked, but he wasn’t sure how much longer it would. His memories of contracting the parasite that threatened to kill him were fuzzy. He had been a young child, maybe six or seven. Wandering around the forest listening to what he thought was a voice from ‘beyond’. Sounded silly now. But he could swear he had been called to the glen. That the thing that had crawled from the water, stung his hand and infected him, had told him it was for a reason. It was to make way for something that would change him.
Either way, he was infected and dying now. The only one in the universe that had the strain he had. What did it matter anymore why it was happening? It was coming to an end soon, just like Earth, just like the universe when the darkness was through with it.
Pretty far past buzzed, Trev peered over his glass. An Asterion was looking over at him, curiously.
"What?" Trevor asked, suddenly feeling brave.
The Asterion got off his seat at the edge of the bar and walked over until he towered over him.
"I can take you." Trev laughed. He looked to the barkeep. "I'll have another of these." He slid the empty glass away.
"Maybe you've had too many," the Asterion said gently. He took a seat next to him and motioned for one
himself. "What's with the sword?"
Trevor shook his head. "I used to think I had a reason. Revenge. Now?…Pff." He chuckled and shook his empty glass. “Revenge only serves you. But what if you want redemption? It has to serve others. Can you achieve both?” He looked at the Asterion and laughed some more. “I’m babbling. Sorry.”
The Asterion bit his lower lip. "Revenge. Redemption. We all live with some form of regret."
Trev stopped giggling and looked up at his large, horned head. "What do you regret?"
The alien exhaled slowly. "I abandoned my squadron. Though I don't even believe what I saw anymore; I now have to live with leaving my brothers to die. I think maybe I should have died with them. That is our way and I turned my back on it."
Trevor watched the barkeep finish making their drinks and grabbed it the second it hit the bar. He wasn't sure what the stranger was talking about.
"Well, you would do me a favor if you knew who flew a blood-red 52B Viper. There’s only one left in the universe." Trevor made squiggles for the jagged end he could never forget. "With a custom-bladed tail."
The Asterion turned deadly serious and anger surged from his calm body language. "Of course I know."
Trevor's glass fell from his hands before he could take another drink. The answer had come unexpectedly, and it was sobering. “What?”
"I'll never forget that ship. That's the ship of Dacian Velkas's assassin."
Trev searched the Asterion's face and saw an equal amount of hate and anger. "What's the name?"
"The name is Render."
Part Two:
The Light Awakens
“Rysta, I’ve been watching this whole time. You have chosen the wrong one for the task at hand. The Dark One is closing in.”
“Mykia. Obviously, you haven’t been watching close enough.”
Chapter 13
Nathan heard a heartbeat like it was coming from underwater. Bum-bum. The repetition almost lulled him back to sleep. His eyes shot open when he realized it was someone banging on his door. He had two seconds to realize where his clothes were and where Kaida had gone. The clothes were strewn about and hastily returned to his body. The mystery of Kaida's location would have to wait.